Chicago Blues | Chicago Blues Music

Chicago Blues
Earwig also features the finest in Jazz, Gospel and Storytelling

Check out our six latest releases...

Les Copeland - Don’t Let The Devil In
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Les Copeland started his professional career as a country blues guy with a bottleneck stuck on one finger. From down home Delta to uptown Chicago blues, Les can improvise anything. Primarily self-taught, his unique sound has developed out of a rich mixture of influences including blues, jazz, Spanish flamenco, pop and classical music. This album marks Les’s Earwig Music label debut. It showcases Les’ fine finger picking, melodic sensibility and chordal finesse, and his wry and ironic lyrical observations about everyday people. Blues legend Honeyboy Edwards, with whom Les has toured in Canada for 14 years, guests on guitar on 2 tracks, and Honeyboy’s manager Michael Frank plays harmonica on 3 tracks. This cd is a healthy dose of Americana roots and blues, done Les’s inimitable way.

Chicago Blues Music

Andy Cohen - Built Right On The Ground
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Andy Cohen has studied and played old music all his life, wandering North America as a songster. He lives by playing old songs. On this cd, Andy plays acoustic guitar, piano, dulceola and sings. On some pieces he is accompanied by his wife Larkin Bryant, on haunting vocals and mandolin. Here are unadulterated songs from the early days of the blues - 2 piano rags done as guitar pieces, 3 blue country songs, 2 piano boogies, one of which has passed between the piano and guitar for over seventy years. The rest are a variety of blues numbers, including a talking blues by Woodie Guthrie, 2 tough ones by Memphis Minnie, 1 each by Big Bill Broonzy, Teddy Darby, and Henry Spaulding. For Andy, these songs are some of the central chunks of his troubadour life, especially “Cairo Blues”, the weirdest blues ever composed, by a barber from central Illinois.

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Chris James & Patrick Rynn - Gonna Boogie Anyway
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Hot on the heels of their Blues Music Award-nominated Earwig debut, Stop And Think About It, San Diego-based vocalist/guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn return with Gonna Boogie Anyway. Chris and Patrick’s roots are firmly planted in traditional blues; they’re expert at raw-edged Chicago and Delta styles as well as swinging jump blues. Gonna Boogie Anyway features several unplugged selections-a first for the duo-showcasing their unerring grasp of the idiom alongside hard-driving band-backed tracks. Original material dominates, though Chris and Patrick revive classics by Bo Diddley, Jimmy Reed, and Robert Lockwood, Jr. Their studio cohorts include piano legends Henry Gray (50s sideman to Bo Diddley and Howlin’ Wolf), ex-Freddie King keyboard accompanist David Maxwell and drummers Sam Lay and Willie Hayes; Bob Corritore and Earwig label mate Rob Stone share harmonica duties. Deep, satisfying blues with a high-energy swagger!

Rob Stone - Back Around Here
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With the release of Back Around Here, blues fans outside the Windy City, where Rob Stone plays at the House of Blues, will no longer be wondering about his current musical whereabouts. You won’t find anything downbeat on this new release: whether in the studio or onstage, this harp player maintains a high-energy attack. Rob’s rich, fat harmonica tone displays the stylistic sway of his mighty heroes - Little Walter, Big Walter Horton, the two Sonny Boys, and Junior Wells. Backing him on this new album are his longtime friends guitarist Chris James and bassist Patrick Rynn, who combined with Stone to write eight fresh originals, including the jumping title track, a houserocker driven by tight horns and James’ slashing axe. The three exhibit the same tight ensemble playing and unshakable commitment to Chicago blues tradition that defined their trio, The C-Notes. Guest artists include Sam Lay and Willie Hayes on drums, Rodney Brown on Sax, and David Maxwell on piano.

Tim Woods - The Blues Sessions
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Tim Woods has been singing and playing acoustic and electric guitar for more than 25 years. This album showcases his distinctive style; he picks using his thumb, playing both lead and rhythm while interchanging chords and licks. As a young adult, Tim was immersed in the legendary Macon, Georgia music scene, which had a profound impact on him, influencing his appreciation of the blues. Delta Bluesmen David “Honeyboy” Edwards, Big Jack Johnson, and Bob Stroger and others are featured guest artists on this debut release. From the acoustic “Bad Whiskey & Cocaine”, to the rollicking “Clarksdale Boogie”, to the scarcely played (and not recorded since 1942) “Wind Howlin’ Blues”, these recordings take you on a celebrated journey that weaves across diverse fan bases of early Delta, boogie and Chicago-style blues.

Grady Champion - Back In Mississippi Live at the 930 Blues Cafe
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Grady Champion, grew up on a farm in Canton, Mississippi. He released his debut album, Goin’ Back Home in 1998, drawing ever-larger crowds to blues clubs around Florida and Mississippi before signing with Shanachie Records, for which he did two albums, in 1999 and 2001.

From the inception of his career as a blues performer, Champion has sought to tackle new lyrical themes with his original compositions. He is a charismatic performer, poised to bust out worldwide, with the international release on the Earwig Music label, of his cd Back in Mississippi Live.

David Whiteis of the Chicago Reader had this to say about Grady in 1999, “…His greatest strength is his voice, a tough, raspy mix of youthful swagger and wounded weariness …
He’s one of the most eloquent blues songwriters coming up today, making music that combines emotional depth and unrestrained celebration …”

In January 2010, Grady won the 26th International Blues Challenge beating out 110 bands from around the world. As a result, Grady has been booked on high profile festivals and events, including the Chicago Blues Festival, and the Ultimate Rhythm & Blues Cruise.